MovieChat Forums > Don't Be Afraid of the Dark (1973) Discussion > Missing Scene from End of Film?

Missing Scene from End of Film?

posted 15 years ago by jim-1382
6 replies | jump to latest

I only saw this once on TV when it originally aired and it made a great impression on me and I was delighted when I discovered I could get it from Warner Archives on DVD. But I just watched it and didn't see a scene that I was sure I remembered right at the end of the film. In it, Sally's husband arrives just in time to see Sally disappear through the door into the furnace. In the DVD, he only hears her screams and just sticks his head in the door which she has already gone through and calls for her.

Does anyone else remember this scene? Maybe I just imagined it as I thought the husband saw Sally's feet disappear into the door just as he arrived, but since the creatures were pulling her along by her feet, her head should have been the last thing to go through. (On the other hand, it would have been easier for them to film this scene using a body double if they had the feet go through last.)

Anyway, if anyone else remembers this version, I would like to know.

(BTW, I had just posted the creepy beginning and ending dialogue of the creatures in this film in "Memorable Quotes" which should show up in a couple of days.)

[–] SimplySteve 15 years ago

The ending you saw on the DVD is exactly how it was when it originally aired.
Probably the long time in between viewings is what caused the confusion.

Wasn't it great though! This film scared the crap out of me at 8 years old. I will never forget that scream as he broke through the door, and the sheer disappointment that they "got her". Thats very rough on 8 yr old :)

I bought a DVD of it about 5 years ago on this website Monstersinmotion.

I hope, because they're doing the remake, they do the full DVD treatment for this version it deserves.

.

[–] bowery_boy 15 years ago

Really? Because now that I think of it, I kind of remember the same ending Jim did and being a bit bummed out because the husband didn't save her in time.

Then again the last time I saw this movie was over 30 years ago.

[–] SimplySteve 15 years ago

In both endings jim quotes, the husband doesn't save her. The difference was he remembered the husband actually seeing the feet(or something to that effect) going into the ash door. But what is shown is sally screaming AS they break through the FRONT door of the house. The next shot is them running into the study room, and him looking into the 'pit'. He calls for her, then drops the flashlight(in shock). He never actually see's her being dragged at any time.

Are you sure you want to be a nightclub comic?

[–] peter_delane 15 years ago

I frequently believe something happened, only for it to be revealed it didn't. The mind is very poor at remembering details but superb when it comes to emotion.

The ending to Nightmare on Elm Street where the mother gets pulled through the door is probably what's to blame.

[–] magwell-1 15 years ago

Your memory fails you.

[–] andrsbckly 15 years ago

If I remember correctly.....Sally has a camera with a flash attachment; she uses it several times to scare the demons away....however, as she uses the last flash, the demons turn, look at her angrily, and advance towards her face. Perhaps they were already almost at the fireplace, and grabbed her by her air or arms (they had drugged her with sleeping pills, so she was too weak to fight back); I don't recall her being shown actually cast into the pit, though. When I spoke with Nigel Mckeand, the writer, he explained that the script was rushed into production because of a writers strike, no time to 'polish' the script.
p.s., Nigel not only wrote this screenplay, he also does the voice of one of the demons! I created 3 miniature figures based on the demons and sent them to Nigel, for which he gratefully thanked me, he's a great guy!